


i swear i never tried

by likewinning



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bands, Alternate Universe - Retail, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-29
Updated: 2016-09-29
Packaged: 2018-08-18 10:35:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8159083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/likewinning/pseuds/likewinning
Summary: "Harv, I fucked up."





	

Harvey gets the phone call at 2AM. He shouldn't even be awake, but he's been working on a case that he can't leave alone. It was easier to do this when he was off his meds, when he was so coked up he couldn't see straight, but he's trying to be - trying to be _normal_.

"Hello?" he says.

"Harv," Bruce says. His voice is like gravel, like the bottom of a bottle of whiskey. "Harv, it's me."

"Bruce," he says. They haven't talked much since Harvey quit the band. He knew Bruce was back in town, that the girls took the bus and decided to do their own thing for a while. Sometimes Mera sends postcards from the road.

"It's late," Harvey says.

"I know," Bruce says. He's quiet, but Harvey hears noise in the background that sounds like a bar. "I - Harvey."

"Yeah, Bruce?" Harvey asks.

"Harv, I fucked up."

Harvey waits. He's always been the fuck up in their relationship, the one who gets into fights, who loses them an opening band because he calls the lead singer a dickhead. Harvey's the one who got arrested in Memphis, who stumbled out of a pub in Manchester and lost the band for two days on an acid trip.

"You remember," Bruce says. "That girl, Talia? With the long dark hair?"

"I remember," Harvey says. She used to hang all over Bruce after shows, tell him he could own the world if he went off on his own. They used to laugh about her afterward, used to -

"She's pregnant," Bruce says.

The pencil in Harvey's hand snaps in half. "Where are you?" he asks.

 

*

 

He picks Bruce up at a bar downtown and takes him home. He half-carries Bruce from the elevator, props him against the door while he digs out his keys. Bruce looks terrible in the fluorescent hallways lights. His hair is shaggy, beard unkempt, his t-shirt stained with what looks like beer. His left boot has a hole in the toe and when he lets out a breath, all Harvey smells is alcohol.

"Come on," Harvey says when he lets Bruce inside. "Sit down. I'll get you some water."

Bruce mutters something and follows him inside. He collapses on the couch, and when Harvey comes back with a bottle of water Bruce is swerving his head all around to look at the place.

"It's nice," Bruce says. He runs his hand over the leather of the couch, then takes the water from Harvey. He puts his feet up on the coffee table, mussing up a stack of papers, and Harvey sits down next to him.

"It's okay," Harvey says. He shrugs. "Nothing like your place, right?"

Bruce grunts. He gulps down his water and wipes his face with the back of his hand. Little drops of water run down his beard, and he looks at Harvey. "Harv, I fucked up."

"Uh-huh," Harvey says. "You mentioned, buddy."

Bruce's face crumbles like when Harvey told him he was leaving. He leans over with his head between his knees. "A kid, Harv," he chokes out. "A _baby_. How do I - how am I supposed to - and with _her_."

"Can't do anything about that last part," Harvey says. He rubs Bruce's back, and through the t-shirt he can feel the little bumps of Bruce's tattoo, the one they got together in Orlando. "But Bruce, man, you can do this. You can."

Bruce sits up, scowls at him. "You were gone," he says. "This never would've happened if you hadn't _left_."

His words hit Harvey right in this chest. He takes his hand away, stands up and walks across the room. There's a bottle of Jack sitting on the kitchen counter, unopened. He was supposed to wait until after he won this case to open it, but now -

"Don't," Harvey says. "Don't say that shit to me, all right? I did you a favor."

Bruce laughs like a bottle breaking and then he's standing right behind Harvey, grabbing at the bottom of his shirt. He leans his forehead on Harvey's shoulder and breathes on him. "No," he says. "I needed you. We all did. Harvey, I -"

Harvey turns around in his arms. Bruce's eyes are big and blue and desperate and Harvey's missed him like a fucking heartbeat. He knew Bruce was back in Gotham but he didn't call, couldn't call, because -

"Come on, man," he says. "Don't do this. Don't -"

Bruce crushes his mouth against Harvey's, barges past his lips with his tongue. He tastes like whiskey and cigarettes and his teeth clack against Harvey's until Harvey grabs him by the hair and fixes the angle. "Bruce," Harvey says against his mouth. "This isn't -"

"Don't tell me that," Bruce says. He slips his hand down Harvey's jeans and Harvey sighs, leans his forehead against Bruce's.

"Fuck, man," Harvey says. "I _missed_ you."

"Need you," Bruce says. He sucks a bruise onto Harvey's jaw, and that's going to show up in court tomorrow. "Need you _in_ me." Harvey groans, and Bruce presses into him, squeezes his dick and grabs at Harvey's shirt.

They knock into everything on the way to the bedroom, all the books on Harvey's floor, the stack of boxes Harvey never bothered to unpack when he moved in. Bruce shucks off his shoes, his clothes, lies back on the bed and Harvey forgets to breathe for a second.

Bruce is beautiful. Bruce has always _been_ beautiful, even awkward and skinny and fifteen, but like this - spread out for him, just for _him_ \- he's something else. Something more.

"God," Harvey says. He takes off his shirt, unbuttons his jeans and kicks off his shoes and socks. He grabs the lube from the nightstand and then crawls on top of Bruce and kisses him again, grinding against him like when they were teenagers and just the feel of their dicks rubbing together could get them off in minutes. He rubs his face against Bruce's beard, then kisses his way down his chest, his stomach, sucks him down because he _needs_ to.

" _Harvey_ ," Bruce whines and Harvey slicks up his fingers, slides two into Bruce while he sucks him off. "Hurry up," Bruce says. He tugs Harvey's hair and Harvey crooks his fingers, gets Bruce arching up and hitting the back of his throat.

He pulls off and grabs a condom from the nightstand, but Bruce shakes his head. "No," he says. His words are starting to slur, but his eyes are sure. " _In_ me."

"Okay," Harvey says. He nods, starts slicking up his dick. "Okay."

That first push in always knocks him breathless, when Bruce groans for him and wraps his legs around him, looks up at him like he's made of solid fucking gold. Harvey used to say Bruce was the crazy one, hanging around him and giving him all his time, and despite the meds spread out on his bathroom counter and the doctor's appointment every third Tuesday, sometimes he still thinks he's right.

"God," Harvey says. "God, you feel good."

"So do you," Bruce says. " _Fuck_ me."

Harvey laughs and starts to move, grabs Bruce's hips and starts to move. Bruce moans with every thrust, grabs onto his dick and stares up at Harvey, licking his lips. For a while, buried inside him, feeling Bruce clench around him, Harvey forgets he ever left, forgets that there's going to be some kid out there that could have Bruce's eyes, his little quirk of a grin. He forgets that there's anything but this - Bruce under him, saying his name, begging -

"Don't leave," Bruce gasps out. "Don't don't don't -"

"I'm not," Harvey says. Lies, because - "I'm not going anywhere, buddy."

Bruce blinks, and Harvey gets his hand over Bruce's on his dick. "You gonna come for me?" he asks. "Wanna feel it. Wanna _see_ you," he says, and Bruce moans as they move faster, as Harvey fucks in harder, until his vision turns white and he falls right over the edge. Bruce doesn't last much longer, a couple more pumps of their hands and Harvey feels Bruce clench around him and then scream.

Harvey pulls out of him slowly, wipes his hand on the sheets and then settles back on one side of Bruce. He puts his hand over Bruce's heart and Bruce takes hold of it.

"You're gonna be fine, you know," Harvey says. "I mean," he says. "If you can take care of _me_ , you can manage a kid, right?"

Bruce laughs, smiles for the first time since Harvey picked him up tonight. "You weren't so terrible," he says.

"Fuck you," Harvey says. "I'm the worst."

Bruce squeezes his hand. "You're doing amazing," he says. "This place. And you're working - and…"

"Beauty of psychiatric treatment, right?" Harvey asks.

"No," Bruce says. "It's all you, Harv. You're doing this."

"Yeah," Harvey says. They don't say anything else, and Bruce passes out a few minutes later, snoring away. But when Harvey's alarm clock goes off at 6:30AM, Bruce is already gone.

 

*

 

It's months before Harvey hears from Bruce again, to tell him about the baby.

"He's beautiful, Harv," Bruce says, his voice crackling over some terrible hospital payphone. "Dark hair and green eyes. Real green eyes. So tiny. You need to see him."

Harvey promises to see him soon, but it takes him months. He says he's busy, and it isn't a lie. It's not entirely the truth, though.

When he gets the picture of the kid in the mail, he pours himself a drink. He knew Bruce could do this - he's just not sure _he_ can.


End file.
